DEMONETISATION AMAMMOTH TRAGEDY—MANMOHAN
SINGH
നോട്ട്‌ പിൻവലിക്കൽ തീരുമാനം വമ്പൻ ദുരന്തം, സ്ഥിതി യുദ്ധ സമാനം: മൻമോഹൻ സിംഗ്‌
Former
prime minister Manmohan Singh has made a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government's demonetisation move and
said the decision will cause "grievous injury" to the honest people
who earn in cash.In an article published in The Hindu newspaper
today, Manmohan Singh alleged that the dishonest and the black money hoarders
will get away without suffering any severe punishment.
Calling the demonetisation move as an
"impetuous decision", Singh said it had shattered the trust reposed
by hundreds of millions of people in the BJP-led NDA government.
The Prime Minister in his address to the nation
said, "There comes a time in the history of a country's development when a
need is felt for a strong and decisive step," and propounded two primary
reasons for this decision. One was to check "enemies from across the
border...using fake currency notes". The other was to "break the grip
of corruption and black money".
He said the notion that "all cash is black
money and all black money is in cash" is false and far from reality. To
buttress his point, Singh said more than 90 per cent of India's workforce,
including agriculture workers and construction workers, earn their wages in
cash. More than 600 million Indians who live in a town or village do not have
any bank, he said.
The former prime minister condemned tarnishing
this cash as 'black money'. Calling it a "mammoth tragedy", he said
the move had thrown the lives of these poor people in disarray. "The
recent decision by the Prime Minister is a travesty of this fundamental
duty," he said.
He said black money was a genuine concern but
all black money was not in cash. Only a tiny fraction was so. He faulted the
government over the introduction of Rs 2,000 currency notes and said it would
be easier to generate unaccounted wealth in the future. "This brazen policy
measure has neither tackled the stock of black money holistically nor has it
stemmed the flow of it" he said.
Singh gave his own example and said he had
experienced long lines for rationed food during war time. But he never imagined
that one day he would find men and women waiting endlessly for "rationed
money". "That all of this suffering is due to one hasty decision
makes it even more disconcerting," he said.He said the scars of an overnight depletion of
the honest wealth of a vast majority combined with their ordeal of rationed
access to new currency will be too deep to heal quickly. This can have ripple
effects on GDP growth and job creation. "It is my humble opinion that we
as a nation should brace ourselves for a tough period over the coming months,
needlessly so," he said.
The former prime minister said the government
should have taken into account the risks of unintended consequences. The risks
and the potential benefits of such decisions should have been deftly balanced.
"Waging a war on black money may sound enticing. But it cannot entail even
a single loss of life of an honest Indian," he said, obviously referring
to the death of about 80 people whose death the Opposition is associating with
demonetisation.
നോട്ട്‌ പിൻവലിക്കൽ തീരുമാനം വമ്പൻ ദുരന്തമായെന്ന് മുൻ പ്രധാനമന്ത്രി മൻമോഹൻ സിംഗ്‌. യുദ്ധസമാനമായ സ്ഥിതിയാണ് ഇന്നത്തേത്‌. യുദ്ധസമയത്ത്‌
ആളുകൾ റേഷനായി കിട്ടുന്ന ഭക്ഷണത്തിനു വേണ്ടി ക്യൂ നിൽക്കുന്നതുപോലെയാണ് ജനങ്ങൾ ഇന്ന് റേഷനായി കിട്ടുന്ന പണത്തിന് വേണ്ടി കാത്തു നിൽക്കുന്നത്‌. എന്റെ രാജ്യത്തെ ജനങ്ങളും ഇങ്ങനെ റേഷൻ പണത്തിന് വേണ്ടി കാത്തുകിടക്കേണ്ടി വരുമെന്ന് ഒരിക്കലും കരുതിയതല്ല.
അടിസ്ഥാന ആവശ്യങ്ങൾക്ക്‌ വേണ്ടി ലക്ഷക്കണക്കിന് ആളുകൾ ക്യൂവിൽ നിൽക്കുന്ന കാഴ്ച ഹൃദയഭേദകമാണ്. 100 കോടിയിലധികം വരുന്ന ഇന്ത്യാക്കാർക്ക്‌ സർക്കാരിലുള്ള വിശ്വാസമാണ് ഈ ഒരൊറ്റ നടപടിയിലൂടെ നരേന്ദ്ര മോദി തകർത്തത്‌. ഈ തീരുമാനത്തിന്റെ അനന്തരഫലങ്ങൾ അനുഭവിക്കേണ്ടി വരും. ഓരോ രാജ്യത്തെയും വളർച്ചയിൽ അവിടുത്തെ ഉപഭോക്താവിന്റെ വിശ്വാസമാണ് പ്രധാന സൂചിക, ആ വിശ്വാസം തകർത്തു കളഞ്ഞു. ഹിന്ദു ദിനപ്പത്രത്തിൽ എഴുതിയ ലേഖനത്തിലാണ് മൻമോഹൻ സിംഗ്‌ മോദിയെ രൂക്ഷമായി വിമർശിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത്‌.
Prof. John Kurakar
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